SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Melinda Bush called for an end to price-gouging tactics used by pharmaceutical companies during a press conference this morning in Springfield.

“In recent years, we’ve heard horror stories of prices of lifesaving drugs skyrocketing overnight, leaving those who need them to survive facing financial ruin,” said Bush (D-Grayslake). “This isn’t just a problem for individuals who rely on these drugs to survive. Price gouging for prescription drugs is incredibly costly for consumers and taxpayers. When drug companies raise their prices, the state pays more.”

Bush is the Senate sponsor of House Bill 4900, which would ban price-gouging practices by prescription drug manufacturers and allow the attorney general to investigate price increases and take action if a drug company is found to have engaged in price gouging.

“By cracking down on outrageous price gouging by pharmaceutical companies, we have a chance to save taxpayer dollars while ensuring Illinoisans have access to the medication they often need to survive,” Bush said. “Not only is this the right thing to do, it’s the fiscally responsible thing to do.”

A federal study by the Government Accountability Office looked at 1,441 generic drugs and found that more than 300 had seen prices at least double between 2010 and 2015.

A new Illinois Senate resolution, sponsored by Sen. Melinda Bush of Grayslake, asks the Wisconsin state legislature to reconsider the state’s abandonment of multiple environmental regulations to pave the way for the planned Foxconn plant near Racine.

Bush, a Democrat, said Monday Wisconsin’s actions raise major concerns about flooding and air and water quality. For example, she said she’s heard from several residents in Gurnee concerning the project’s potential to worsen local flooding along the Des Plaines south of Racine.

“Obviously air quality is really important, but my biggest concern with this, if built, is that it will be able to skirt federal and state requirements and we will have more flooding,” Bush said in her Grayslake office Monday.

Of considerable local concern is that part of the deal passed by the Wisconsin General Assembly allows Foxconn to fill wetlands without a permit, a reversal of longstanding multi-jurisdictional efforts to utilize wetlands located within the Des Plaines River watershed as a major tool to reduce river flooding.

Racine County, the Foxconn site and Lake County all sit in the Des Plaines watershed, Bush said, and flooding in the Des Plaines River watershed and throughout Lake County has caused billions of dollars in damage in recent years, including record flooding in July.

“The fact that Wisconsin leaders are willing to sacrifice the health of humans and the environment for jobs is unacceptable,” Bush said. “Lake County residents deserve better. I hope Wisconsin leaders will put people before profits and reconsider the Foxconn deal.”

The Senate resolution, passed by Illinois senators last week, also asks Illinois agencies to take whatever actions possible to protect against the loss of water, potential flooding and other ecological impacts that might result from the Foxconn deal.

Mike Warner, executive director of the Lake County Stormwater Management Commission, said that group is keeping a close eye on the Foxconn approval and development process.

“The Foxconn development site is in the headwaters of the Des Plaines River, so any impact (such as wetland filling) without mitigation would eventually come down into Lake County and affect us,” Warner said Monday.

The resolution urges Wisconsin leaders to put more thought into the “serious environmental and public health concerns that may threaten Illinoisans” as a result of the planned Foxconn Technology Co. plant planned for Mount Pleasant, near Racine.

“The decisions from Wisconsin leaders and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to allow Foxconn to skirt environmental protections are irresponsible and short-sighted,” Bush, a Democrat, said. “The environmental impacts don’t stop at the Wisconsin border. Lake County residents will be affected, but because Foxconn is exempt from environmental regulations, we don’t know the full impact.”

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Melinda Bush (D-Grayslake) released the statement below following Governor Rauner’s amendatory veto of House Bill 1468.

“The governor had a rare chance today to take a meaningful step in reducing the gun violence epidemic by creating a 72-hour cooling-off period before allowing an individual to purchase an assault weapon. Instead, he chose to inject politics into what should be a common-sense safety issue.

“While I would support many of the proposals suggested by the governor, he has expanded the scope of the original legislation, which flies in the face of our state constitution. If the governor seeks to have serious negotiations on how we can eradicate gun violence, I welcome him to the conversation.”